My Growing Babies

PHOTO DUMP!!!

Our children read WAY above grade level. :)

He still loves his cars!

Is that a kissable face or what?

Emmett's ready to bring style to missionary work with a cowboy hat to compliment the missionary name tag he got in preschool. Please also note that he is wearing long sleaves in the middle of the summer. This is because he fell in the toilet at church, came home to take a bath, and then went back in the only other Sundayish clothes we could find. Oh, my funny little boy! Sometimes I wonder if he will ever know how completely I adore him!

It's easy to tell when Bethany is ready to take a nap or go to bed. One Sunday she sprawled out like this at church on the Relief Society room floor, sucked her thumb, and fell asleep for about 10 minutes.Everyone thought she was adorable of course!

Emmett invented a new game to play with Bethany. She played willingly one time, and now Emmett is always climbing all over her trying to get her to go through the "tunnel" again while she adamantly screams in protest. I guess some games are only fun once.

Those three stairs give me nightmares. I can block them from the bottom, but not at the top. She hasn't fallen down them yet, but I am dreading the day that it will inevitably happen. In fact, Emmett is the one who keeps falling down the stairs. I tell him not to climb on or over the gate, yet he always seems to think it's a better idea than waiting for me to help him. He's collapsed the gate multiple times and toppled over with it. One side of the gate is actually broken because of it, but it still works with a bit of wrangling.

My sweet, sweet girl! I love her so much!

Making messes and climbing on top of them are so much fun! Bookshelves are irresistible.

One game that is consistantly fun for both kids is building a lego tower together. Emmett will say to Bethany, "Bethany, do you want to give that lego to Emmett so he can build a tower?" And Bethany will respond, "Yeah" and hand him the block. Then he'll say, "Oh, thank you, Bethany! You're a really nice girl!"

 

"Mom, can you say, 'Oh Emmett! You do look so cool in those sunglasses! You're a very handsome boy.' "

Bethany likes to hang out in the kitchen and play in the pantry while I make dinner. Her favorite toy is the bottle of canola oil.

 

Our garden has suffered quite a lot in the summer heat, and I got WAY behind on weeding, but we've still been enjoying some watermelon and honeydew. It's a good thing too, because I think we killed our peach tree, and a huge hail storm took out the few grapes that managed to grow.

Bethany has been enjoying the watermelon too. She loves to suck on the rinds!

She pulls herself up and cruises along furniture like a pro now.

 

We have to always keep the baby gate up or Bethany darts up the stairs in a flash. It's a bit of a pain since Emmett still has to go up and down the stairs to play with his trains and use the potty, etc. The exercise I get lifting him over it all day is good for my arms, and the hassle is worth it.

 

Having a girl is so fun! I love putting bows in her hair! She's getting better at letting me do her hair now and I'm getting faster at the pig tails. They aren't always (if ever) even, but I'm now fast enough that I can sometimes get them done before she starts screaming.

Bethany LOVES riding the rocking horse! It is a reliable source of entertainment and she will rock on it for several minutes before growing bored with it. She finally outgrew her bouncing toy car, so I'm happy to have a replacement! Also, please note that she is now sporting THREE adorable teeth! :)

Our window is covered with dirty little hand prints. I love it.

We had a huge rain and thunderstorm the other day. The kids were fascinated by it.

Emmett and Bethany watched the storm together. I want to draw your attention to something noteworthy in this photo. Please look at Emmett's eyes. Do you see that he is a bit cross-eyed? He is not showing off a new trick, as many people have asked. This is his Duane's syndrome at work. Emmett is trying to look to the left toward the camera. His right eye turns inward like it should, but his left eye is stuck looking straight ahead. It's noticeable in other photos too, and sometimes it looks much worse, but I think this is a pretty clear example.

Sometimes, if everyone has eaten their dinners QUICKLY, Daddy will play Mario with the kidson the Wii. Casey's the only one with a functioning remote, but Emmett plays along with his own remote, sans batteries. Bethany loves it too and will dance to the music and bounce on her bottom whenever Mario jumps.